I've just been to survey my estate( I wish) and there's loads of things in flower around, half of the greenery hasn't died off from last summer yet, the leaves are still on my passionflower (on north wall ) on my jasmine,there's roses out on my climber on the south wall, the osteospermum has flowers on it,so does the hanging geranium in my hanging baskets (did,'t get around to getting them down !!) Yet the bulbs seem to be slow in coming through, last year they were up by now, and in flower at the end of this month.The speckled clematis is absolutely smothered in flowers, and the seeds from it that I sowed last autumn have all come through, as have all the others I put in, if we get a cold spell nowI assume that they'll be vunerable.I'm sure that we must have more cold weather in store for us somewhere along the line.
what's out in flower now?
I didn't do a proper tidy up last autumn either. Looking for a mild spell so I can neaten things up a bit. Got three snowdrops in flower. Some wallflower. Some Mahonia. And polyanthus. Think that's about it. I never got round to cleaning out my hanging basket...
Only have Jasminum nudiflorum and Calendula in flower now. In the greenhouse the Felicia is still going, it hasn't stopped for 4 years.
my snowdrop collection is looking really good right now and plenty more still to come.
Mark
I can never keep snowdrops, no matter waht I try, so i've given up, and I love them.I think my garden must be too dry for them,same with fritillarias they just vanish! but I do get a lovely crop of celendines ! in fact I can't get rid of them, but never mind they're still pretty
Got some lovely smelling shrubs in flower at the moment. Sarcococca (2 ssp.) is the strongest, right by the backdoor. With it is Daphne lauroela philippi. I really miss the Acacia dealbata I had to take down last year - it flowered for ages in February/March, though needs a sheltered corner. Also got hedge of Viburnum tinus 'Eve Price' flowering, winter jasmine and, until v recently, Hebe 'Midsummer Beauty'!!
Welcome to Dave's Philomel!
Yes, hi Philomel!
Thanks for your greetings Baa and Northerner. Was looking at thread 'Cup of tea with Jane' and it took me back. Black Pudding...yum.... and I do like tripe and onions - weaned on it in Chester. Yes, people in the south are more reticent, though can be true friends once the ice is broken. Many of the nurseries around here are ready with advice and a chat, but garden centres eughh most have staff who don't know their roots from their shoots.
Oh so you come from Chester, i work sometimes in Cheshire and love it, have visited Chester many times but the only place i have worked there is Blacon a huge council estate.
Yes, was born in Chester and loved it, but left when 5/6. Been back a few times and still find the place magic and all the country haunts we used to visit in Cheshire and N Wales.
Who's got what flowering indoors at the moment? I'm not hot on house plants. Have only got african violets, and hyacinths apart from the massive plant of Hoya bella that hardly ever seems to be out of flower (must thrive on neglect)
only snowdrops that i put in last autumn, there's only three in flower, but more to come i hope!
Forgot the Mahonia - how could i do that?
Thought it might be good to compare then and now, the current Voting Booth question made me want to swap notes with others around the UK. So here's my list:
Geranium phaeum, Geranium macrorrhizum (2 types with a few flowers just open), lamiums, pulmonarias, narcissi, violets, celandines, grape hyacinths, hyacinths, a primula, chionodoxa, Clematis armandii and in shrubs have 4 spp of Daphne - laureola philippi, pontica, odora and collina (though that ones a cheat, i just bought it), many more in bud, Coronilla glauca, V. tinus 2 types, Mahonias Bealei and aquifolium 'Apollo', chaenomeles 'Crimson and Gold' and one of my favourites for its spicy scent - Ribes odoratum - yum!!
and of course, the gorse! ;)
i havn't got as much as you in flower! your garden must be beautiful philomel!
i've got crocuses, ordinary daffs, 'rip van winkle' narcissi, hyacinths, euphorbia robbiae and flowering currant.
more to come though!
lil
Hmmmm it's beautiful if you turn a blind eye to the nettles and brambles sprouting everywhere. I did battle with a few yesterday, but not sure if i'm winning yet.
Leave the nettles, these are food for the butterflies.
But theyre growing all over where i need to grow food for me :(
There will still be plenty left for the butterflies i can assure you!!
flowering in my garden right are excluding common stuff
late flowering snowdrops just starting
celandines
dwarf hardy Osteospermum
Felicia
hardy climbing Felicia (can take -10 and less)
first of the hardy geraniums
Doronicums have buds
thats about it.
Mark
So far we have:
All the Celendines
Wallflowers
Primula veris
Primula denticulata
Primula vulgaris and doubles
Lamium maculatum
Usual spring bulbs
Viola jooi hybrid
Viola odorata
Viola canina
Viola riviniana purp
Viola sororia Priceana
Anemone Mount Everest
Symphytum tuberosa
Euphorbia dulcis
Euphorbia griffithii
Plants with buds are:
Aquilegia vulgaris
Primula auricula
Myosotis
Polygala chamaebuxus
Polygala calcarea
Apple Egremont Russet
The Plymouth Strawberry which has been in the greenhouse has tiny prickly fruit on it too
Where do you draw the line at common Mark? Come on we want the lot!
And are you insinuating that the rest of us are posting common things? :O (TIC - tongue in cheek)
common stuff = daffs, narcissus, tulip etc the sorta things that everyone has or you would expect to see at this time of year.
Mark
I'm ashamed to say that my hanging baskets from last summer are still hanging up by the front door, and i noticed yesterday that the trailing pelargonium has climbed up into the clematis and fredmontodendron and has loads of flowers onit. My rose on the front wall has loads of fat buds just ready to burst open,as are the montanas, 'elizabeth' on my north house wall has a few flowers out already around my daughters window.The spooneri on the west wall should be out in a few days too, it's all really early this year, or so it seems.And the chirrosa'freckles' was covered in flowers, these loads of fluffy seed heads hanging there now, must collect some seeds.
Baa you've got a lovely list.
What's a plymouth strawberry please? Don't know that one.
Sueone, see you like clematis too. I'll be propogating my Clematis montana 'Wilsonii' later (see database), would you like to do a trade when i've got some rooted? Would love some 'Elizabeth' - used to have it. Or spooneri - don't know much about that. Is it scented?
Oh Sueone! My Clematis cirrhosa Freckles has never ever flowered ... I'm greeeeeen with envy LOL
The Clematis alpina Annabelle (?) is flowering at the moment too as are the Snakes Heads which I totally forgot about.
Philomel
Thanks. Plymouth Strawberry is a mutation of Fragaria vesca. One of the John Tradescants' met a woman who was throwing them out as she had collected these duff strawberries in error and he recorded them and kept a few plants. They are exactly like the wild strawberry except they have leaves for petals and produce a red strawberry covered in tiny leaves like a little red and green hedgehog. The pic I posted in the PDB isn't very good (and that's not my shirt either!!!LOL) but it gives you the idea of how it looks. It's not too well known.
Hi Philomel, I'd love to do a swop, I'll have seeds or I've got some seedlings from last year coming on too, they're only little,in fact I've got quite a few clematis plugs or seedlings coming on in my greenhouse now, in fact it's coming to saturation point already, and i haven't begun to start with the annuals or veggies ! :-)In the plugs I've got flammula,and serratifolia,let me know if you're interested.
Baa I planted some alpine c last autumn which I'd grown from seed, but they don't seem to be doing much at the mo, I suspect slugs are eating the leaves as fast as they grow!
my first Doronicum is in flowers as well as Geranium phaeum and monacense.
Mark
Just got the first flower on one of my 'summer' roses - climber 'Etoile d'Hollande'. Beautiful deep rich red and a scent (as i said on the rose forum) to die for!
Sorry sueone, seem to have missed your offer somehow. Yes i'd love to swap, but am up to my eyes at the moment and have no babies ready yet anyway - will be in touch. Would love both the spp you mention (both scented, used to have flammula, and serratifolia sounds yummy - lemon flavour!) Thanks a lot.
:)
Yes i have loads of buds on my roses, dont know though which will be first its usually Maigold climber which is an earlier flowerer anyhow but i think it could be the Queen Mother patio rose, who can tell cos its buds everywhere. Also flowering are last years Petunia and snapdragons and i left some tender fuschias(La Campanella)out and guess what they are leaving out nicely and i have bought a load of new fuschias too, as i am going crackers over them.
geraniums. the trickle before the rush.
Mark